Ensure transgender people’s rights

Speakers at a view exchange meeting here yesterday stressed the need for ensuring fundamental rights especially the health, social and legal rights of the transgender people for uplifting their living and livelihood condition.\n

28th April 2012 09:48

Alessia Valenza

They said the society, as a whole, should come forward with a positive attitude toward the extreme socially excluded people for their coexistence in society with decent livelihood.

In his welcome address, Project Coordinator SM Ziauddin narrated objective of the project and its activities. He added that the project is being implemented for elevating the living and livelihood condition of around 650 transgender people in the city.

Representatives of various government and non-government health providing organisations attended the meeting discussing ways and means on how to ensure healthcare facilities to the excluded people.

With president of the organisation Maya Khan in the chair, Junior Health Education Officer Abdur Rahman, Asaduzzaman of Social Marketing Company, Sheikh Moin Uddin of PSTC, Nur Newaz of KMSS, Minhaj Uddin of Bikash and GM Harun of Bangladesh Lekhak Parishad, among others, took part in the discussion.

Maya Khan pointed out that the members of the community are always subjected to negligence and repression in every sphere of life including family and society.

She said the Hijra community is essentially deprived of several rights under the country’s existing law, because it recognises only two sexes, male and female.

All Bangladeshi governmental documents therefore are meant to be prepared for male or female citizens. Hijras are left with no choice as they have to identify themselves as either male or female in those documents, she added.